Good-bye AIESEC

How do you know when something feels right and when you should act on it? See you can manage/block emotions for a certain period of time but then they will always catch up with you no matter what – and for me these are the days.

Thought I’d contemplate because I’ve never really allowed myself time to do that this past 12 months – actually I have never had time to myself, when thinking about it I have spent energy on AIESEC 24/7 for 2 years – was it by choice or default is another topic for another day.

I guess I’m not over the fact that the end has come for me in getting my hands dirty, it just feels strange – I have been extremely bored doing nothing for the past one week, even a friend of mine was shocked to hear that I HAVE NOTHING TO DO coz ever since I joined AIESEC there was never a moment where I would sit and idle – everything was always a rush , I had 12 months to think about global issues & how relevant they were to my immediate society, people to network with who could be enablers to our coarse, projects to do that are impactful to people, managing people who carried out these duties, and of all this bring tangible results… that was the fuel of my being…of my existence for the past couple of years and now I have to re-focus that existence, it’s like I have been told to live another life all over again and don’t know where to beginning.

Well I start working for PWC this coming Monday, I hope it will re-energise and motivate me again, and since they are a global organisation I guess I will find passion again in one aspect or another.

….okay this is a kinda good-bye to an organisation that has taught me all that I know – yes all that I know. I joined when I was 17 years old and now I’m 23 so you can imagine! I’m not very good at expressing myself emotionally and those who know me will agree totally – but I saw it fitting to write this as it has been bugging me for some time now.

To all the people I have met – I truly appreciate your acquaintance, you have added a wealth of knowledge to me when you spoke about your passion, country, and what you thought about life in general. Till we meet again – keep well.

Khotso, Pula, Nala – Peace, Rain and Prosperity

Some of my favorite Pics

My team

Wits Interact promotion

The AfroXlds2007 networking dinner picture at the Gordon Institute for Business Science in Illovo.

Some of my favourite pictures, the Taj Mahal in India

Still in the MC house after the MC 0708’s first conference which I also facilitated, glad to see how I still made impact in people’s lives – got such a lot of positive feedback – maybe it’s because I was smiling in my sessions this time as I was just a facilitator and not multi-tasking like previous times where I’d have to be an OC member, facilitator, and be MCP at the same time.

Anyway, the last international trip I took with AIESEC in South Africa was International President’s meeting and it was hosted by AIESEC in Egypt.

What a chilled out conference it was in terms of Agenda compared with the last one I attended, but for me it was till a lot of work anyway. I was chosen as the African region representative for the panel of interviewers for candidates who want to work for AIESEC international – trust me that is a lot of work.

We sat for 2 days in one room of the hotel interviewing candidates from about 9h00am till about 00h00am with very little break between as there were 20 candidates to go through – but I enjoyed the experience, it was one of my highlights towards the end of my term.

I went to Egypt with the incoming MCP – Unati and she has her own story to tell about Egypt, it was different from what I expected and I’m glad that I got to go.

After the conference we hanged-out with a Diplomat from the SA embassy (and he has a nice house as compared to the ones I saw In Egypt – I think the government pays them wellJ), I got to go to Port Said ( a town at the corner of the Mediterranean sea and the Suez canal) , the Pyramids, Red sea (our hotel was on the beach of the red sea – so you have breakfast overlooking the blue beautiful liquid ).

I recommend anyone to travel – you learn so much – it’s like a baby given toys to play with - they look so excited and want to touch this and that, bite, etc and that’s the feeling I get whenever I go out of my country.

The world is your oyster - would you like to have at the tips of your fingers?

Avensis

This picture was taken when TOYOTA lend us a car for our Annual General Meeting in 2006, the car was an Avensis – top of the range car if I may say so. When we went to collect it, I thought we were going to be given a tazz but we got an Avensis instead – you should have seen the look in out eyes….

…and then we got an accident, it was the most painful and confusing 3 days of our lives – you should have seen us – we locked ourselves in a room with all the alcohol that was sponsored and drank our sorrows away. I still remember clearly that period – if I never left office in the two months that followed after that – then I can handle anything that can come my way with the help of God.

Just sharing some of the thoughts going through my head at the moment – The 2 years term in this office taught me a lot about life and people, and some of the lessons were not so friendly but I thank God that we were able to survive.

I’m sure my team-mates will agree!!

Poland

Recalling some of the travelling, I came across this picture with the SA ambassador in Poland, Mrs Febe Potgieter-Gqubule. It’s an added benefit when travelling in a foreign country I guess – meeting people from your home country. Peeps in the pic are

• Boitsheko Manyeneng – AIESEC in Botswana President
• Elias Monareng – Local Committee President, University of Free State – QwaQwa campus.
• Thisile Mtyeku – Local Committee President, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
• Mark Alexander – Vice President People Development, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
• Mrs Febe Potgieter-Gqubule - South African ambassador
• Abey Tau – AIESEC in South Africa National President 2006/2007
• Elrine Woods – Local Committee President, University of Johannesburg.
• Themba Melato – Local Committee President, Walter Sisulu University – Ibika Campus, Butterworth.

We also had the opportunity to meet Mr Lech Walesa, former President of Poland (1990-1995), Solidarity for the Future. He addressed the delegates of International Congress to kick off the start of the day.

But after a horrible experience I had I Poland I wonder if I wanna go back to it again - the people were very unfriendly (outside the AIESEC network).